D . . . d

He is the Deliverer

There have been many deliverers in the history of God's people:

• Noah delivered the human race from a judgmental flood
• Moses delivered the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery
• Deborah delivered God's people from the Canaanites
• Gideon, from the Midianites
• David, from the Philistines

But the greatest deliverer of all time, Jesus of Nazareth, stood in his little home town synagogue and read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners . . .

Isaiah 61:1,2

He is MY Deliverer

When I was 8 years old, He saved me and delivered me from the penalty of sin. He sent His Spirit to live within me and daily His Spirit delivers me from the power of sin's allure. Two years ago, He delivered me from the deepest pit I've ever known. It was a darkness of depression so pervasive that it had extinguished all hope and joy from my life.

My Deliverer came exactly like the psalmist says and:

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O my God . . .

Psalm 40:2, 17

My Deliverer gave my physician wisdom to diagnosis and treat a physical problem that contributed to my depression. My Deliverer led me to wonderful counsel in His Word and the words of Christian authors and began to deliver me from my emotional ailments one gentle layer after another. My Deliverer began to whisper hope into my ear each morning as I sat before Him. My Deliverer spoke volumes into my spirit of His everlasting love for me and rehearsed it over and over until the truth of it was at home in my heart. My Deliverer infused me with bountiful JOY and strength. My Deliverer restored the years and "ground" the enemy had stolen. My Deliverer washed me clean and out of His mercy and grace gave me a place of ministry. My Deliverer graciously gives me the opportunity to share with some of His other daughters how great is the love He has lavished upon them.

And here's the best part - My Deliverer is not finished. He DAILY delivers me! And tomorrow? Well, tomorrow when I need to be delivered, My Deliverer will be right there. There's not a doubt in my mind! He has proven Himself Faithful to me! Oh, praise His name! Anybody out there shoutin' "hallelujah" with me?

The Lord is my rock and my fortress

and my deliverer;

The God of my strength,

in whom I will trust.

2 Samuel 22:2-3

So what about you, my sweet sisters? Do you need a Deliverer in your life?

One of my favorite Beth Moore teachings is from one of her early writings where she compared Peter's deliverance from jail (Acts 12) to Paul and Silas's deliverance from chains in the Philippian jail (Acts 16). She notes that Christ set Peter free to LEAVE but Paul and Silas free to STAY. (You may want to read both references to familiarize yourself with the stories.)

Beth wrote: Christ "CAME to set the captives fee. That's His job. But
sometimes He sets us free to leave and sometimes He sets us free to stay.
. . . Christ came to set you free. He wants you unchained from everything that
holds you captive. He wants your Spirit freed. He may free you to walk away from that job or He may desire to free you so that you can stay. He may free you to walk away from your present place of service or He may free you to stay.
Some of you are bound in a marriage to an unbeliever. Does He want you set free? Yes! But rarely free to leave! He wants to free you to stay so that your husband might witness the miraculous works of God, and like the jailer who trembled, fall before the Throne and say, "What must I do to be saved!"
Is God seeking to unchain you from things in your life that are holding you prisoner? Are you being mastered by anything other than God? Has He recently released you to a new, unexpected, perhaps even uninvited "freedom"? Have you been freed to leave? Or freed to stay? That's between you and your Deliverer. Had Peter stayed he would've likely died. Had Paul left, the jailer would've never lived. It all depends on what God wants to do with your freedom. Why don't you ask Him?

May I share what I wrote in my journal in response to that lesson more than TWELVE years ago?
With all my heart, Lord God, I thank you for setting me free! in my marriage . . . free to stay. In denominational ties . . . free to leave. Both are issues settled LONG ago. I thank You for the blessings - untold blessings - You've brought through both these freedoms. Thank you for my precious husband and for my wonderful church. I love them so!

I am His disciple

If you abide in My word,

you are My disciples indeed.

John 8:31

Did you know that the Latin word for disciple means "one who learns by doing"?

Sometimes we try to learn by sitting. We sit in Sunday School. We sit in worship service. We sit in Bible study. We sit at fellowship suppers. In some churches, if you sit long enough you'll even get a perfect attendance pin! GRIN!

Sometimes we try to learn by listening. Listening while we sit in all those places. Listening to Christian radio, television preachers, tapes, CD's, etc. So much sound, much of it good but are we made disciples by listening? I don't think so.

What about reading? We read our Bibles and classic books of the faith - and, yes, that's a good thing. But does it qualify as "doing"? Does it lead to discipleship?

Gathering with other believers, listening to good solid Bible teaching and reading the Word of God are all certainly GOOD things. They just aren't the "main" thing. Jesus said "ABIDE in my word." That means

live there

try it out

do what it says

get some obedience going in your life

Discipleship isn't easy. Praise God, He has given us His Spirit to enable and empower us to ABIDE. He has given us His Word to teach us His ways, unfold His will and encourage us to walk in it. He has given us the example of countless "saints" whose changed lives are proof positive that Christianity is real and that being a disciple - learning by doing - is worth the effort.

I'm committed to learning day by day by day. What about you?

D (God is . . .)

Desire of all nations
Discerner
Door of the sheep
Dwelling place
Dayspring
Defender and refuge
Deliverer

d (In Christ I am . . .)

dead to sin, alive to God (Rom. 6:6,11)
delighted in (Isa. 42:1)
desired (Ps. 45:11)
delivered (2 Tim. 4:18)
disciplined (Heb. 12:5-11)
disciple (Luke 9:23)